Machine for cutting and spacing soft-rubber rods and the like.



1. c. RE'ICH. MACHINE FOR CUTTINGAND SPACING SOFT RUBBER R 0DS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-Z4; 1916.

WWW mum mm 5 $HIEETS-SHEET I J. C. REICH.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING AND SPACING SOFT RUBBER RODS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.24. I916.

- mm Feb. 26,1918.

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in g -ilk I N a I v Inf/@7230? John Cari Reich l. C. REICH.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING AND SPACING SOFT RUBBER RODS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.24, 1916.

I. C. REICH.

MACHINE FOR cunme AND SPACING son RUBBER RODSAND THE LIKE.

' APPLICATION FILED AUG-24, I916.

{ 96m Patented Feb. 26,1918

5 SHEETS SHEET 4.

1. c. REICH. MACHINE FOR CUTTING AND SPACING SOFT RUBBER RODS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUGJH. l9l6- Patented Feb. '26, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHHT 5.

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INCORPORATED, F YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

rtacmnn non cn'r'rrne AND sracine SOFT-RUBBER nons am) THE LIKE.

To all whom-it may concern:

. Be it known that 1, JOHN citizen of the United States, residin Chicago, in the county of Cook and tate of'ltllinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Cutting and CARL Rmcrr, a at Spacing Soft-Rubber Rods and the like, of

the material.

' which the following soapstone, in which is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

This invention relates to machines for facilitating the handling of soft rubber prior to the valcanizing thereof.

1n the manufacture'of rubber rods, tubes, and the like, the soft-rubber is forced out of or extruded from a receptacle .through an opening therein, which gives it the desired cross sectional form. 'The lengths of soft,

An object of the present provide means whereby uniformly close spacing and packing of the soft rubber lengths may be readily accomplished.

Another object of the invention is to provide spacing means which will serve to keep the rods straight during the handling preliminary toand during. the process of vulcanization.

One embodiment of the invention is illus trated in the accompanying drawings in which: I

Figure 1 is a front elevational view;

Fig. 2 is a plan view;

3 1s a side elevational view; Fig. .4 1s a sectional view on l1ne'4-4;

Fig.2;

ig. 5 is a plan .view of a rod receiving tra and the soapstone 001147211116?" into'which rot s are discharged;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line 6-6,

Fig. 5;

ig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of one end of the tray;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view on line'88, Fig. 5., and

Fig. 9 is an end VifiW of a corner of the tray.

diiiicult to efiect such close invention is to v Patented Feb. as, rare.

Application filed August 24, 191e, Serial Nm 116, 726.

, dUHN CARI: REICH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, i.

The machine has a suitable frame 10, ad-

jacent the front edge of which an endless 'belt 11 is mounted on pulleys 12 and 13 suitably journaled on the frame. The rods or tubes to be vulcanized are delivered to the belt from a head 14, the soft rubber composition being in practice extruded from the head to form the rod or tube lengths which are received by the belt. On the lower part of the machine frame a motor 15 is supported and a driving belt 16 connects the motor pulley 17 with the pulley 18 on the transverse shaft 19, journaled in bearing brackets 20, 21 and 22 suspended from the machine frame. bevel pinion 23 which meshes with a pinion 24 at the right end of the longitudinally extending shaft 25 which is'journaled in the brackets 26, 27 and 28 suspended from the machine frame. At its left end the shaft 25 supports a bearing frame 29 for the friction wheel 30. This friction wheel bears against a friction disk 31 secured at the lower end of the vertical shaft32 which is journaled in the bearing frames 33 and 34. A. spring 35 encircles the shaft between the bearing frames 33 and 34 and nuts 36 of the shaft whereby the friction disk is held firmly against the friction wheel. Within the bearing frame 34 the shaft 32 has a worm 37 secured thereto which meshes with the worm wheel 38 on the shaft 39 which supports the belt pulley 12. The belt 11 is The shaft '19 mounts a driven with its horizontal top span moving away from the head 14, so that the received rod lengths are carried to the center of the machine top. To prevent the freshly formed rubber rods from sticking to the belt, and when being handled, soapstone or other suitable material is preferably applied thereto. As shown, a hopper 40 is mounted over the receiving end of the belt and to insure delivery of the contents in fine ulverized condition to the belt and rods tiereon, pulverizing mechanism 41 is operable within the hopper, the shaft 42 for this mechanism mounting a pulley 43 which is connected by belt 44 with the pulley 45 on the shaft 46 which mounts the belt pulley 13.

Extendinglongitudinally of the machine and directly behind the belt the frame top has the depression 47 which is filled with soapstone. Into this depression the operator at the front of the machine rolls the rods from the belt, the rods being then fully v with which a pawl 54 cooperates,

, I aaraeeo veyer pockets 51. Into the successive pockets of this conveyer star cylinder, the operator shifts the rods one by one from the depression or tray 47 and as the cylinder is rotated the rods are conveyed to chute mechanism tobe described later.

The cylinder is mounted on the shaft 52 which is journaled at its ends in suitable bearings on the frame, and at its left end the cylinder carries a ratchet wheel 53 this pawl bein ivoted to the upper arm of the bell cranr ever 55 pivoted on the shaft 52 and whose lower arm is connected. by a rod 56 with the arm 57 extending rearwardly from the shaft 58v which extends longitudinally atthe lower part of the machine frame. A

-' treadle frame 59 is secured to theshaft 58 at 78 to receive and when this frame is depressed, the arm 57 and the rod 56 will be raised and the lever 55 will be swung and the pawl 54'will rotate the ratchet wheel 53 and the conveyer cylinder a peripheral distance equal to the distance between adjacent tooth points. A spring 60 raises the treadle frame after release thereof.

A shaft 61 extends across the machine behind the conve er cylinder and parallel therewith,.the s aft being journaled at its ends .in housing structures 62 and 63 in which structures the shaft mounts cutter disks or blades 64 and 65 respectively, the blades fproj ecting alongside of the respective ends 0 the carrier cylinder so that they will engage with the projecting ends of the rods in the trough of the cylinder to cut off the ends and to trim the rods to uniform 'len h. The shaft 61 extends a bearin frame 66 and there supports a gear pinion 67 which meshes with the pinion 68 on the vertical shaft 69 which at its lower end has the'bevel gear 70 engaged by thebevel gear 71 on the drive shaft 19.

After trimming of the rods, livered by the carrier cylinder to a rear chute platev72, which slants diagonally forward] The ront chute wall 74 is pivoted at its upper corners as indicated at 75 and plates 76 and 77 secured to the ends of the wall 74 extend rearward-1y alongside the ends of the rear wall 72 and are slottedas indicated the screw studs 79 on. arms 80 extending from the lower ends of the hangers 73. With this arrangement, the

. reference lower .end .of wall 74 may beadjusted with to the lower endof the wall 72 to vary the chute outlet and after adjust ment the wall 74 isjsecured by tightening up at its right end into.

they are deand is supported on hangers 73.

the nuts on the screw studs 79. To guide the rods into the chute from the carrier cylinder, guard springs 81 are mounted on supporting brackets 82 which have adjustable pin and slot connection with supports 83 whereby the guard springs may be s ifted toward or away from the carrier cylinder. These guard springs and the chute outlet are adjustable for adapting the machine for rods of different diameters.

Extending transversely of the machine below the outlet of the chute is the plate 84 which has the central longitudinal groove 85 in which engages a bar 87 having rack teeth 88 on its under side to be engaged by a gear wheel 89 extending through the opening 90 in the plate 84. This gear is mounted on a longitudinally extending shaft 91, which at its right end supports a ratchet wheel 92. The upper arm of the bell crank lever structure 93 pivots a pawl 94 which cooperates with the ratchet wheel 92, the lower arm of the lever being connected by the arm 95 which extends rearwardly from the treadle shaft 58 so that when the treadle is depressed the lever 93 will'be swung and the pawl 94 caused to rotate the ratchet wheel 92 and the gear wheel 89 a fraction of a revolution whereby to shift the rack bar 87rearwardly in its groove.

The bar 87 supports trays which receive the trimmed rods from the chute leading from the carrier. The construction of this tray is clearly shown in Figs. 5 to 9. The' traycomprises' the sides 96 and 97 and the side 96 limits the shift of the bar 103. In

order to carry the tray, it has the bales 106 and 107 pivoted to the ends 98 and 99 ad jacent to and parallel with the sides 96 and 97 and these bales may be swung outwardly to carry their tops beyond the sides 96 and 97, the bales in this position resting against the beveledcorners 108 of the overla ping ends of 'the sides 96 and 97, as clearl s own I in Figs. 8 and 9. The tray is slid into the machine on the guides 109 and 110 and straddles the rack bar 87 with its front end abutting against the abutment 111 on the rack bar, and the tray with the rack bar is then shifted to the front of the machine with therear end of the tray below the chute out let to receive the rods. Before the machine 1s started the handle 1 4 is shifted i next m and so on. After the box is filled,

naanaao tit to bring the louvers in inclined position, as shown in Figs. 4 and 7. The machine is then started and the first rod passes around the carrier drum and along the chute wall 72 to be delivered in the tray on the rearmost louver. When the pedal is then depressed, the carrier cylinder will be rotated and the rack bar with the traythereon will be shifted rearward to bring the next louver below the ohuteto receive the next rod, and so on until the tray is filled, the filled tray being taken away from the machine and a new tray inserted. To permit return shift of the rack bar 87 with an empty tray thereon, provision is made to release the pawl 9 1 from the ratchet wheel 92. A cam lever 112 is pivoted on the shaft 91 and has the slot 113 which receives the pin 114 extending from the slide rod 115. When this rod is pulled forwardly, the cam lever will be rotated and its cam surface brought below the pin 114 extending from the pawl, and

the pawl is raised from the ratchet wheel so that the shaft 91 and the gear wheel 89 thereon may rotate freely as the rack bar 87 is shifted to the front of the machine with the tray thereon. After an empty tray has thus been placed in the machine, the rod 115 is shifted rearwardly to withdraw the cam from the pawl and the machine is again operated until the tray is filled.

The filled trays are carried from the machine and held over a box 116 containing soapstone 117 and by means of the handle 104 the bar 103 is'shifted to cause the louvers to be swung into vertical position to release the rods. After each layer of rods has been dropped into the box 116, a layer of soapstone is applied to receive the rods from the it is placed in a suitable vulcanizer and the rods are vulcanized. On the back end of the machine, shelves 118 are arranged to sup port the trays before they are inserted in the machine or after they have been filled.

At the front'of the machine and below the top thereof is the sheet metal collector frame 119 for receiving the soapstone which drops from the belt, a drawer 1 0 being provided at the lower end of the collector. Also byman adjustable brake shoe 124:. This braking mechanism prevents overthrow of the carrier.

With the apparatus described, it will be seen that the soft rubber is prepared for the vulcanizing operation with a minimum amount of handling. The rubber is cut into uniform lengths and said lengths are thereafter prevented from bending, whereby they may be packed in the soapstone in close relation without touching each other. The.

scribed need not all be included in a single,

machine. Furthermore, various changes in the apparatus may be made-without depart.-

ing from the invention, as set out in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the class described, means for extruding soft rubber rods from a container, means for cutting said rods into .uniform lengths, means for directing said lengths from the cutting means to a suitable receptacle, and means for causing a relative movement of said directing means with respect to said receptacle whereby said out lengths are arranged in spaced relation in said receptacle.

2. In a device of the class described, a tray having louvers therein, a chute adja cent thereto for delivering soft rubber rods to said tray, and means for moving said tray with respect to said chute in such timed relation that only one rod is deposited on each of said louvers.

. 3. In a device ofthe class described, a

frame having louvers the'rein,-.mean's for depositing soft rubber rods on said louvers, and means for simultaneously moving all of said louvers to discharge said rods therefrom in uniform spaced relation.

4. The combination with a head from which soft rubber composition is extruded, of a table adjacent thereto having a belt traveling thereover, a pair of rotatable cuting members, a chute beneath said members, a tray beneath said chute having louvers therein, and means for imparting an intermittent movement to said tray corresponding to the distance between said louvers.

5. In a device of the class described, a tray comprising a side frame, a plurality of parallel louvers pivoted thereto, said louvers being normally nearly horizontal, and means for simultaneously moving all of said louvers to vertical position, said means beingarranged at the ends of said louvers to prevent obstructing the space between the latter.

6. The method of packing lengths of soft material which consists in. feeding said lengths of material to a temporary supporting structure in timed relation to the relative iao movement of the latter with respect to the feeding means, whereby uniform spacing of said lengths is obtained, discharging said lengths from said supporting structure into a receptacle, whereby said uniform spacing is maintained, covering said lengths with a filler and depositing similarly spaced lengths of said soft material on said filler and out of contact with said first named lengths.

7. In a device of the class described, means for extruding soft rubber rods in various lengths greater than their finished lengths, means for cutting said rods to uniform length, and means for placing said out lengths in spaced relation in a receptacle.

effect a uniform spacing of. said rods in said receptacle.

9. In a device of the class described, means for extruding soft rubber rods from a container, a pair of cutting members, and means for feeding said rods transversely between said cutting members whereby they are cut into uniform lengths.

10. In a device of the class described, means for extruding soft rubber rods from a container, a receptacle, means for delivering said rods thereto, and means for feeding said rods to said delivery means in a path at substantiallyright angles to their axis of extrusion, said receptacle and said delivery means being relatively movable to effect a unilform spacing of said rods in said receptac e.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 18th day of August A. D., 1916.

JOHN CARL REICH. 

